Tag: SpaceX
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NASA, SpaceX launch SPHEREx observatory and PUNCH heliophysics mission from California
SpaceX and NASA successfully launched the agency’s newest space telescope and solar research mission Tuesday evening. A Falcon 9 lifted off from California with the SPHEREx near-infrared observatory, with the PUNCH heliophysics mission flying as a rideshare. During its mission, SPHEREx will complete surveys of the entire sky in optical and near-infrared light, observing over…
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U.S. Air Force’s X-37B spaceplane lands following 434-day orbital mission
The X-37B on the runway at Vandenberg Space Force Base following its landing there on March 7, 2025. Image: U.S. Space Force. Announced with the thunder of a sonic boom, the secretive U.S. military X-37B spaceplane made its return from orbit early Friday at 2:22am EST (0722 UTC). The uncrewed spacecraft touched down on a…
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The Starship program hits another speed bump with second consecutive failure
SpaceX’s Starship launcher spun out of control minutes after liftoff Thursday, showering fiery debris over the Bahamas and dealing another setback to Elon Musk’s rocket program after a failure under similar circumstances less than two months ago. Starship and its Super Heavy booster, loaded with millions of pounds of methane and liquid oxygen propellants, lumbered…
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Starship upper stage lost in second mishap in a row
The Starship upper stage suffered multiple premature engine shutdowns, as indicated in telemetry shown at bottom right. Flight control was lost and the spacecraft broke apart in a spectacular shower of debris. It was the Starship program’s second upper stage failure in a row. Image: SpaceX SpaceX launched its huge Starship rocket on the program’s…
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Launch Roundup: Starship and Ariane 6 launch after scrubs
SpaceX launches Starship’s eighth flight test, Arianespace’s Ariane 6 launches from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana, and China sends another Chang Zheng 3B/E to space. Ariane 6 kicks off the week by launching high-resolution reconnaissance satellites for the French Space Agency, followed by Starship’s eighth flight test. Then, Chang Zheng 3B/E takes another…
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Launch preview: SpaceX to launch Starship Flight 8 following Monday scrub
SpaceX’s Starship rocket stands at the launch tower ahead of the eighth suborbital flight test. Image: SpaceX Update March 6, 3:50 p.m. EST (2050 UTC): SpaceX is proceeding towards a launch attempt on March 6. SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starship rocket from its Starbase facilities in southern Texas following a scrubbed launch attempt…
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SpaceX launches 21 Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral
A SpaceX rocket ascends from Space Launch Complex 40 on the Starlink 12-20 mission on Sunday, March 2, 2025. Image: Spaceflight Now SpaceX launched its first Falcon 9 rocket of the month and its first Starlink flight since reportedly reaching 5 million subscribers for the satellite internet service on Sunday night. Liftoff of the Starlink…
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SpaceX readies a redo of last month’s ill-fated Starship test flight
SpaceX plans to launch the eighth full-scale test flight of its enormous Starship rocket as soon as Monday after receiving regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration. The test flight will be a repeat of what SpaceX hoped to achieve on the previous Starship launch in January, when the rocket broke apart and showered debris…
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Rocket Report: Rocket Lab’s news blitz; Starship mishap blamed on vibrations
Welcome to Edition 7.33 of the Rocket Report! Phew, what a week for Rocket Lab! The company released a bevy of announcements in conjunction with its quarterly earnings report Thursday. Rocket Lab is spending a lot of money to develop the medium-lift Neutron rocket, and as we’ll discuss below, a rocket landing platform and a new…
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Falcon 9 launches second lunar mission of 2025 with IM-2 lander
SpaceX launched its second lunar mission of 2025, just over a month after flying the Firefly Blue Ghost and HAKUTO-R M2 Resilience landers to the Moon atop a single Falcon 9. Another Falcon 9, this time with the Intuitive Machines IM-2 NOVA-C lander on board, launched successfully from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at the Kennedy…